How to make pretty paper gift boxes without a template.

Are you planning on giving gifts to loved ones & friends any time soon? If you are like me, & love personalizing your gifts & gift wrapping; then this project is for you.  

The beauty of these gorgeous little boxes is that they are economical on product using only a sheet of 12x12” patterned paper  to make two boxes. They can be made in 15 minutes which is a wonderful time saver!

Join me as I take you through my step-by-step process. 

One piece Gift Box by Kim Watson

Supplies: Patterned paper, Gold Foils paper, Vellum Paper, Tags, Ephemera, Tickets & Die-cuts: +Fancy Pants Designs Burlap & Bouquets collection. 

Instructions:

1. Cut a piece of patterned paper 10.5” x 6”.  
2. Score horizontally: 1.75”, 1.5”, 3”, 1,5”, 2,5”.  
3. Score vertically: 1.5”, 3”, 1.5”. 
4. Fold along score lines, snipping all the flaps free to the 1.5”mark. 
5. Fold & adhere the first box flap closed.
6. Fold it towards the inside of the box. Fold up side flaps & adhere in place.
7. Fold top box flap, adhering the sides. NOTE: make sure to place the adhesive out of the way to allow for the flaps to slip into & out of the box easily. 
8. Die cut a pinked edge vellum circle & layer it together with ephemera, a tag sentiment, punched gold butterflies and twirled twine

Fill your completed box with small gifts or candy. I hope this has inspired you to try making some too! I can’t wait to hand mine out after at our Valentine's day breakfast cook up with a bunch of special friends!

Decorate with sweet little butterflies, punched from gold foil & some paper twine for a pretty touch! They are sure to be a hit with all your special friends & family members!

All done! ENJOY your day!

Scrapbooking your other passions?

As you know, February means Valentine’s Day. This page focuses on one of my greatest loves,

but not necessarily romance. Instead of focusing on a sweetheart, it focuses on where we live; one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

When tackling this article assignment for Papercrafts & Scrapbooking magazine, I found choosing only a few photos from the 100's I have on file, a difficult task. 

The thing that jumped out at me was the amount of breath-taking sunset images I had captured since living here in Kommetjie, so finally settled on 3 of my most recent to use on this scrapbook page. It went without saying that I would have to enlarge one of them to maximise its 'wow-factor'. The shot in question was taken using my iPhone, seriously...no lenses or effects. It looks like that IRL :)

I feel so spoilt at the sheer amount of beauty that surrounds us merely a 5 minutes drive from our house. 

Our neighborhood has an enormous feeling of space & freedom, having the mountains behind & in front of us, with the Atlantic in between . It makes me happy to wake up every morning, knowing that a moments walk or drive in any direction, and & I can be surrounded by world-class beauty.

Love This by Kim Watson: Supplies: Cardstock: AmericanCrafts; Patterned paper: Elle's Studio, +Fancy Pants Designs; Chipboard, Tags, Buttons, Envelope, Stickers, Blackboard label: +Fancy Pants Designs ; Decorative Tape: +Freckled Fawn; Hemp: +Close To My Heart ; Stamps: +Technique Tuesday , Elle's Studio, Cocoa Daisy; Ink: +Ranger Ink ; Pen: +Kuretake ZIG ; Adhesive: +TombowUSA, +Thermoweb, +Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L ; Tools: Mini Attacher by +Ranger Ink; Cutting mat, Scissors, Trimmer by +Fiskars

Making the most of a preprinted tag from  Elle's Studio with the addition of a big button, chipboard from Fancy Pants Designs & stamps, creating the cutest accent cluster for the corner of the big photo. 

Adding another accent cluster to the bottom right corner of the large photo, creates movement across the page as well as balance. Don't you LOVE that cute stamp from Technique Tuesday?!

More layering of accents from the Memories Captured collection from Fancy Pants Designs & stamped images from Technique Tuesday.

So I challenge you to try scrapbooking another passion or great love in your life, other than the 2 legged variety :D

Glad you stopped by!

Crafty ways with everyday products!

Yes...it is the week of LOVE!

Yes... it is commercialised......but let's be honest it is fun, and you can be assured, your loved ones on the receiving end of your love gifts & spoils are surely not going to be complaining about commercialism hehe!

The page I am sharing is a scrapbook layout as published in the Feb 2014 issue of Paper Crafts  & Scrapbooking magazine. It is about our cute daughter & one of her (boy) BFF's. Their love & support of each other in an age where life puts so much pressure on one, is refreshing & sweet! Worthy of a scrapbook page.

Love you to the Moon by Kim Watson: Supplies: Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned paper: +Heidi Swapp, Elle's Studio; Tags & Stamps: Elle's Studio; Buttons: +Fancy Pants Designs; Glitter: Martha Stewart; Mist, Gesso, Ink and Texture Paste: +Ranger Ink; Pen: +Kuretake ZIG ; Adhesive: +Thermoweb, +TombowUSA ; Stencils: The Crafters Workshop; Cutting mat, Scissors, Trimmer by +Fiskars ; Buttons; Other: Black charcoal pencil.

When creating this page....I was challenged to use everyday...ordinary things found at home & in your junk drawer.

These are the obscure things I used: 

• Bamboo coaster mat
• Crossword pages 
• Ticket strips
• Mat & beads
• Dental floss

I gesso'd a bunch of tickets from the strip to knock back the red color, & created paper feathers in different sizes. One I left as is, the other I covered in liquid glue & dredged in fine gold glitter. Gorgeous!!

See the little wooden frame around the sentiment card? I used a bamboo coaster mat, undid it and used the thin bamboo sticks as the supports for my feathers & frame. I took my extra minty dental floss & dyed with lime green mist...it became a super color accent for the layout, which I looped & tied across the page.  

BONUS: my page smells all fresh & minty! :)

Using a kiddies art mat & beads, I created a 'love' inspired accent which when ironed melted & sealed together. Using zig-zag scissors, I cut the ironing sheet into a circles, stitched it & matted the bead accent on top. The discarded bead template came in real handy to add 'comb-like' texture to texture paste onto the background before misting & inking. I tore dictionary pages into quarters & gesso'd them onto my background page for texture & interest. 

Left white, I used the dental floss to stitch buttons & hand stitching areas for added interest.

Ok...let me say....as bizarre as this challenge was...I loved it. It stretched me creatively & I loved every moment of designing it.

Thanks for stopping by!